


This Is Not My Beautiful House

by Kiwibat



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Modern Character in Thedas, Non-Canon Inquisitor (Dragon Age), Non-binary inquisitor (Dragon Age), Pro-Mage Inquisitor, The Inquisitor tries to treat this like a fix-it but they're having a hard time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:15:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24041185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiwibat/pseuds/Kiwibat
Summary: The person who walked out of the rift at The Temple of Sacred Ashes is, strange, to say the least. They seem to know things they shouldn't, things that know one could know. Sometimes they respond to questions before their companions have a chance to ask them. Or they would talk about certain events as if they'd been there even though they hadn't been. Despite this, they seemed confused by just about everything around them. Varric knew there was something they weren't telling everyone. But, he was pretty sure that could be said about everone in the Inquisition.Or, a Dragon Age fan finds themself in the shoes of The Inquisitor and tries their hardest to hold it all together.
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Specific content warnings:  
> Around paragraph 15 the Inquisitor get's misgendered.

Cold. The first thing they became aware of was the cold. It seeped through their clothes at every point of contact between them and the hard ground. Why were they on the ground? Had they fallen out of bed? No, the tile floor in their room was always cold but it never felt like this. This felt rougher, like stone. And there was heavy something around their wrists.

Danny wanted to open their eyes. They were fully awake now and they knew it would be so simple to just open their eyes and look around and get some idea of where they were, but they were scared. There were other people in the room with them. Danny could hear them breathing and shifting around, fabric shifting against fabric and soft clinks of metal. They couldn't tell how many were there but they were close, and they were all around them. What would they do once they knew Danny was awake?

They had started to panicking in earnest, desperately trying to remember where they had been last and what they were doing. But it felt like trying to remember a dream too long after waking. They could only remember the vague sense that they had been running. Danny tried to think harder, to remember any other details.

Pain lanced through them and they cried out. It started in the palm of their hand and radiated out, down their fingers and up their arm.There was no point in pretending to sleep now. They were clearly awake. 

Danny sat up and cradled their arm to their chest. Green flashes of light burst from it as another shock of pain ripped through them. Danny could see that the guards, they had decided they must be guards, hadn't seemed to move. They stood there almost perfectly still, swords drawn and pointed towards them. 

Everything about this was wrong. It didn't make any sense. And yet it was all too familiar. The door opened. As the two women walked inside and circled around Danny the pit of dread that had settled in their gut threatened to escape as hysterical laughter. This could not be happening.

"Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now? The conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. Except for you."

The only response Danny could muster was a weak "What the fuck?" 

Cassandra grabbed their arm roughly. "Explain this."

"I don't…… I don't understand what this is." They weren't really talking to Cassandra. Talking to Cassandra was something they could figure out how to do once they'd finished processing the fact that she was real. That any of this was real. But of course Cassandra didn't know that. She thought Danny was talking about the anchor.

"You're lying"

Cassandra moved to hit them but Danny didn't flinch. They knew that Leliana would stop her.

"We need her Cassandra," Leliana said, backing Cassandra away from them.

"Danny," they corrected.

Cassandra and Leliana both turned to look at them.

"My name is Danny. Or Dan. You can call me 'they' just, don't call me 'her'."

None of this felt real. But the annoyance they felt right now was pretty real. Grounding even. Up until now Danny'd been wrestling with the idea that this might be some kind of intense hallucination or lucid dream. But shouldn't figments of your own mind get your pronouns right?

Leliana stepped closer to them.

"Danny, do you remember what happened? How this began?."

How was Danny even supposed to answer that? They knew what happened but didn't remember it, and they didn't know why or how it happened to them. They decided to answer honestly. Or at least, sort of honestly. 

"No. I remember running. Everything was green. There was a woman with me. I don't remember what happened before I was running. I don't know why I was at the conclave"

"There was a woman?"

"She was helping me. We were helping each other."

Cassandra interrupted them.

“Go to the forward camp, Leliana. I will take them to the rift.”

Leliana nodded and left. Then Cassandra crouched down in front of Danny and released the mannicles around their wrist, replacing them with rope.

"We're going on a walk then?" 

Danny followed her to the door.

"You need to know what happened. It will be easier to show you," Cassandra said.

With that they stepped outside. Danny stood there blinking in the sudden light. When their eyes finally adjusted they looked up at the sky. And then they looked up further than the sky, into The Breach. Danny felt like they were drowning, or falling upwards. It was like standing on the edge of a skyscraper and feeling yourself tip forwards. They tore their eyes away from it and focused on Cassandra.

"We call it the Breach. It’s a massive rift into the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour. It’s not the only such rift, just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the conclave," Cassandra explained.

None of this was new information of course but Danny didn't want to deal with the kind of scrutiny that would come from knowing too much. Going with something fairly noncommittal.

"Must've been some explosion."

"Unless we act The Breach may grow until it swallows the world."

Of course The Breach decided to grow a bit right then. The mark on Danny's hand flaired to life in response, sending more shockwaves of pain through them. They staggered to the ground and tried to breath through the pain.

"Each time the Breach expands, your mark spreads… and it is killing you. It may be the key to stopping this but there isn’t much time.”

"Well I guess we should hop to it then." Danny said standing back up. They held their hand out towards The Breach. "Go go gadget hand!" they exclaimed. Nothing happened. 

Cassandra stared at them incredulously.

"It was worth a shot." Danny shrugged. "I guess maybe we need to get closer."

"So you've decided to help?"

"Well yeah. Even if this thing," they waved their hand in front of Cassandra, "wasn't gonna rip me apart. The idea of that hole in the sky getting bigger is um, objectively horrifying."

Cassandra considered them a moment before turning and continuing on through Haven. As they passed, people stopped and stared at them, at Danny. Danny tried not to stare back. They kept their eyes on Cassandra's back and pretended not to notice.

Cassandra however, had no reason not to acknowledge them.

"They have decided your guilt. They need it. The people of Haven mourn our Most Holy, Divine Justinia, head of the Chantry. The Conclave was hers. It was a chance for peace between mages and templars. She brought their leaders together. Now, they are dead.”

They approached the gate at the edge of town and it was opened for them.

“We lash out, like the sky. But we must think beyond ourselves, as she did. Until the breach is sealed," Cassandra said.

She pulled out a dagger and Danny held their hands out to her. They didn't understand why she bothered to tie a rope around their wrists only to cut it off so soon afterwards. Or why Cassandra was cutting it off when she could have untied it and saved the rope. For the drama, perhaps?

"There will be a trial. I can promise no more.”

"You know you never read me my Miranda Rights. That might be grounds for a mis-trial." Danny rubbed at their wrists.

"Miranda Rights?"

"Sorry, that was a joke. I know those don't exist here. I don't know if mis-trials exist here either? It doesn't really matter. Umm, lead the way I guess."

Danny couldn't tell if Cassandra looked confused or just annoyed. Maybe she was annoyed because she was confused. Or maybe she always looked annoyed. 

“Come. It is not far.”

Cassandra led them further from Haven and closer, presumably, to the destroyed temple. They crossed over the first bridge and passed wounded and shell shocked soldiers, piles of rubble and the corpses of the dead. The path beyond was littered with flaming rubble and the distance meteors fell crashed down to the earth. The mark flared again and Danny stumbled and fell one more.

Cassandra stopped to help them up. "The pulses are coming faster now. The larger the Breach grows, the more rifts appear, the more demons we face."

"Sounds like we don't have any time to waste."

They continued on to the second bridge. Danny tried to remember what happened next. At some point they were going to fall into a river. Why did they fall into a river?

Oh shit.

"Cassandra, wait!"

Danny grabbed Cassandra by the arm and tried to pull her back off the bridge but at that moment the meteor struck. The bridge crumbled beneath their feet and they both tumbled down onto the frozen river below.

Danny picked themself up off the ground. Fuck, that hurt. In front of the two of them a Shade was materializing. Cassandra ran out in front of Danny with her sword drawn.

"Stay behind me!" She yelled.

Danny backed away from the two clashing figueres and looked around for a weapon. They could hear a second shade materializing behind them as they rooted through the crates and debris that had fallen from the bridge. They found a staff and picked it up, turning around to face the now approaching shade. Danny wasn't sure how much use a staff would be in the hands of a non mage, but there weren't any other weapons clearly visible in the debris. At least the staff could be used as a blunt weapon.

Danny gripped the staff like a baseball bat. The Shade surged towards them. Danny swung and caught the demon in it midsection, pushing it back a few paces. Alright, so far so good. Maybe if Danny managed to keep this up they could at least keep the demon distracted long enough for Cassandra to finish fighting the first one. 

The Shade screeched and lunged forwards again, faster this time, lashing out with it's clawed hands. There wasn't enough time to react. Danny just managed to bring the staff up in front of themself, blocking most of the damage from it's claws. The force sent them stumbling back and they landed hard. The demon surged forwards again and Danny tried to scramble away but the demon caught them, slashing at them across the face and chest.

Danny screamed, more from frustration and fear than from pain. This wasn't how they wanted to die, killed by some shitty demon in some fantasy land that shouldn't exist a million miles from home. They shoved their hands out in front of them, wishing with everything they had that they could shove the demon off them and send it flying across the river. 

At that moment Danny felt something rise up inside of them. It wasn't fear, or rage, or acceptance, or courage. It was something else. A bubbling, fizzy kind of energy seemed to flow through them. As Danny held up their hands, bolts of electricity poured out of them and into the demon. It fell back, twitching and shrieking, and the air was filled with a smell Danny realized must be ozone.

Danny rose to their feet and picked up the staff. The demon was starting to recover and Danny knew they had to press their advantage. Danny pointed their staff towards the demon and focused, willing that same energy to rise up within them. It did. Electricity poured through Danny once again, this time channeled through the staff in their hands. It felt easier this time, like water flowing out of a pitcher, smooth and gentle. The Shade flailed and twitched, wailing in pain, before collapsing down on the ground and disintegrating into smoke.

Danny stood there panting. Did that really just happen? Their hands still buzzed gently. A smoldering heap of fabric and ash lay where the demon once stood. They had used magic. They had actually used magic.

"Drop your weapon. Now."

Cassandra must have finished fighting her demon and was now facing Danny. Her sword was drawn.

"Ok. Ok." Danny eased the staff down slowly, keeping their other hand outstretched and visible. "I'm putting the staff down."

"Wait."

Danny stopped.

"Your bleeding"

Oh. Danny reached up and touched their face. Their hand came away wet with blood. They were too focused on the fight with the shade before to notice, but they were actually bleeding pretty heavily. Cassandra looked, concerned.

"I um, yeah I guess I am. I think I'm ok though." Danny touched their face again. Wow, that was a lot of blood.

“Clearly, I cannot protect you, and I cannot expect you to be defenseless." She seemed frustrated. "I should remember that you agreed to come willingly.”

Cassandra walked towards them.

"Here, take these potions." She handed them five small bottles.

"What, all at once?" Danny asked. They felt dizzy. Was it normal to bleed this much?

"No. Take one now and carry the rest with you. Maker knows you may need them."

Oh, that made sense. Danny uncorked one of the bottles and chugged it. It tasted, not great. Not the worst thing they'd ever drunk though, not by far. Almost immediately after drinking it Danny began to feel better. They felt a little clearer now. The pain they felt from their fall from the bridge and their fight with the demon lessened. They touched their face again and it seemed like the bleeding had stopped. 

Danny shoved the rest of the bottles into their jean pockets and mentally sent out a thank you to the company that made them for including such roomy pockets.

"Thank you Cassandra. I'm uh, ready to go when you are."

They continued on, fighting more demons along the way. Now that Danny knew they could use magic they tried to keep their distance from the demons as they fought them. But it was difficult. The demons were quick and Danny would sometimes have to throw themselves out of the way to keep from being hit with claws or bolts of magic. Twice Danny had to resort to using their staff as a melee weapon to force the demons back. During one particularly stressful encounter they surprised themself by shooting a bolt of fire, instead of lighting, out of their staff.

What made fire come out instead of lighting? Obviously there had to be some sort of way to control it. There wasn't time to pay it much thought however. It took just about all of Danny's concentration to not get killed every time they came across more demons.

They eventually reached a staircase. The sounds of conflict on the other side were audible. Cassandra began making her way up the stairs with renewed vigor.

"We're getting closer to the rift. You can hear the fighting," 

Danny followed her. Once they got to the top they could see the rift. There was a group of people below fighting the demons and poured out of it. Danny dropped down the short wall in front of them and then rushed to join the fray. 

With the extra people helping keep the demons at bay, Danny felt more comfortable experimenting with their magic. They tried to bring back the feeling they had when they had cast the fire spell, and managed to cast a huge jet towards the demon closest to them. The demon staggered back and Danny reached inside themselves again, this time drawing up the feeling of electricity. They continued on like this, alternating between lighting and flames, picking off any demon that got too close until there were none left.

The moment the last demon fell Solas rushed over to Danny and grabbed their wrist.

"Quickly, before more come through!"

Solas thrust their hand up towards the rift and Danny felt a jolt run through them where their hands touched. Green light poured forth from the anchor and into the rift. Suddenly Danny could feel it, the rift itself. It hurt. Or maybe hurt wasn't the right word. It was a feeling unlike anything Danny had ever felt before, this pain that wasn't quite pain that existed outside of their body. It was a hole in the vale, an ugly gaping wound, and with their mark Danny could feel it. It felt wrong. 

That sense of wrongness guided Danny as they pushed into it with the power flowing from the anchor. They could feel the vale being healed. The ragged edges knit back together and when Danny felt them begin to touch they let go of the connection. The power released with a snap and a flash of green light. And then the rift was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Varric pov

A great crackling noise filled the air and swirling green light sparked and coalesced. Varric watched as the rift was closed with a snap. It was a relief to see that something could fix them. They could only fight back unending waves of demons for so long

The person who they'd dragged from the wreckage of the conclave, Cassandra's prime suspect, seemed fairly unphased by what they'd just done. Instead they leaned on their staff and looked at Solas with curiosity.

"How did you do that?" They asked him.

"I did nothing. The credit is yours." Solas replied.

"Right. Of course." They said it like it was a joke.

"Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed that mark upon your hand. I theorized the mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the Breach’s wake, and it seems I was correct," Solas explained.

Cassandra interjected. “Meaning it could also close the Breach itself?"

“Possibly.” Solas said to her. Then he turned back to the newcomer. “It seems you hold the key to our salvation.”

"This is probably the weirdest key I've ever held." They remarked, looking down at their hand.

“Good to know! Here I thought we’d be ass-deep in demons forever.” Varric figured he should interject before Solas said more weird esoteric shit. They were probably long overdue for introductions. He turned to face their potential savior. “Varric Tethras; rogue, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tagalong.” He winked at Cassandra as he said the last bit. She made the exact expression he expected her to make.

The newcomer stuck out their hand and then paused considering, before switching their staff to their left hand and reaching the right one out to Varric instead. 

"Danny; extremely confused. Mage, apparently? College drop-out and uh, prime suspect? I'm having a weird time right now. It's very nice to meet you though." They smiled at him brightly.

“You may reconsider that stance, in time," Solas said.

"Doubt it."

“Aww. I’m sure we’ll become great friends in the valley, Solas,” Varric replied.

“Absolutely not." Cassandra interjected. "Your help is appreciated, Varric, but-"

Varric stopped her. "Have you been in the valley lately, Seeker? Your soldiers aren’t in control anymore. You need me.”

Varric looked the two of them over. While Cassandra didn't look too worse for wear it was clear Danny was hurting. Their face was covered in dried blood and they had that worn-out, pinched look he saw mages get when they were running out of mana. They looked tired, and they were absently rubbing at their marked hand like it hurt them. The Inquisition knew nothing of Danny's background, and it was possible that they had very little combat experience. Whatever the case was, it seemed this whole ordeal had taken a lot out of them. Varric didn't want to leave them alone.

Solas turned back towards Danny. “My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions. I’m pleased to see you still live.”

"He means, ‘I kept that mark from killing you while you slept," Varric said.

"Thank you, Solas. That must have been difficult." Danny said.

“Thank me if we manage to close The Breach without killing you in the process.”

"We will." Danny said it with such certainty, like it was a fact.

Solas turned back to Cassandra. “Cassandra, you should know; the magic involved here is unlike any I have ever seen. Your prisoner is a mage, but I find it difficult to imagine any mage having such power.”

Danny laughed at this. "Oh don't sell yourself short Solas. I'm sure you could imagine all sorts of stuff." Once again, they sounded like they were telling some kind of joke the rest of them weren't privy to.

Solas narrowed his eyes at them. "I appreciate your confidence in my capabilities. Still, these events are unprecedented."

Well that was weird. Cassandra seemed not to pay the exchange much thought. Or else she simply decided to move past it. 

“We must get to the forward camp quickly.”

“Well, Bianca’s excited.” Varric said.

"Oh, if Bianca's excited we should definitely hurry. I wouldn't want to keep a lady waiting." Danny winked at him and hurried after Cassandra, who had already started on. 

Danny wasn't exactly what Varric was expecting. But then again, he didn't really know what he expected. What kind of person steps out of the fade like that?

Varric followed after them. The group descended down the path until they reached a frozen river bed. Of course, there were more demons down here. The others were already engaging them.

“Glad you brought me now, Seeker?” Varric called out as he joined the fray. 

As they fought, Varric kept an eye on Danny. He had a feeling they'd need someone to watch their back, and he was right. Danny was definitely untrained. Their movement's were unsure and clumsy. They often had trouble anticipating the demons' attacks and only barely seemed to dodge or block in time. 

It wasn't just clear Danny had never been in a fight before. The way they held their staff was off as well, almost like they'd never used one before. Varric wasn't an expert on magic by any means, but he'd seen enough mages in action, and was willing to bet Danny hadn't been trained in a circle, or by any competent mage outside the circle for that matter. 

Varric had heard of hedge mages, apostates with no formal training, who'd managed to evade the chantry through a combination of luck, and keeping their heads down. Maybe Danny was one of these mages? And what was that thing they said before about being "a mage, apparently"?

After the last demon was destroyed, the group started back on the path. Varric matched his pace with Danny's. It wasn't hard, as they were short for a human. He figured he'd start with some of the more casual "get to know you" type questions, before delving into anything too personal.

"You know I can't quite place your accent?"

"Oh?" Danny absently responded before taking a swig of a potion.

"I'm usually pretty good at it. I've met people from all over Thedas, but I've never heard an accent like yours."

"I'd honestly be surprised if you had. I'm not, from around here, I guess you could say." Danny seemed to weigh their words carefully.

"Well, that's certainly cryptic. Where are you from then?"

"I could tell you, but I know you've never heard of it," Danny said with a wry smile.

"Try me."

"Alright, I'm from Babylon."

"Never heard of it."

Danny laughed. "See? I told you."

The light on their hand suddenly flared. Danny swore softly under their breath and stumbled, but kept going.

“Shit, are you alright?” Varric asked.

They took a few measured breaths before responding. "Yeah, fine. Each one is a little easier to deal with than the last. I didn't even fall over that time."

Solas had noticed what had happened and called back to them. “My magic cannot stop the mark from growing further. For your sake, I suggest we hurry.”

"Aye aye captain. Warp speed." Danny replied. They quickened their pace a bit but not by much. They seemed to be having trouble with the difficult terrain. Varric could relate.

The party had reached a set of winding stone steps. They wound up the side of the mountain, icy, steep, and treacherous. Varric didn't mind fighting demons so much, but this terrain was killing him. Couldn't The Breach have opened up so somewhere a little more horizontal?

“So… are you innocent?” He asked.

“I don’t actually remember what happened, but I know I'm not the one behind this.”

Varric shook his head. “That’ll get you every time. Should have spun a story.”

“That’s what you would have done.” Cassandra said.

“It’s more believable, and less prone to result in premature execution.”

"I don't know, I think it's worth it to stick to the truth sometimes," Danny said. "Especially when the truth is so stupid no one in their right minds would try to lie about it."

The party made their way to the top of the stairs where they encountered more demons. Varric made it a point to watch Danny's back. He thought of saying something to Cassandra about their obvious lack of training, but decided to shelve that conversation for later. She had to have noticed as well. And it's not as if anything could be done about it now. All he could do was try his best to protect Danny as they escorted them to The Breach.

They were close to the forward camp now. As they approached they saw another rift at the gate. Varric took back what he'd thought before about not minding demons. He was sick of demons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Wednesday which means a new chapter! I'm going to try to maintain a once-a-week update schedual. But I also started a second job so I may have to evaluate how it works our later.

**Author's Note:**

> Additional tags will be added as the story progresses. Each chapter will have more specific content warnings in the notes.


End file.
